Saturday, September 24, 2005

Cynthia Ore and Don Sherwood

This was in the Times-Leader a while back, unfortunately the link has expired:

While the Tunkhannock Republican has hardly led the conservative charge on social issues, GOP leaders in the House have come to rely upon his vote when bills pertaining to "traditional family values" come to the floor.The Christian Coalition of America, which touts itself as "the largest and most active conservative grassroots political organization in America," gives Sherwood an 84 percent rating for voting with the coalition's positions on legislative issues. The American Conservative Union rates him at 88 percent. The American Family Association gives Sherwood a perfect 100-percent rating.

As the WNEP poll showed his negatives are high. There is an old rule to politics that says an incumbant is in trouble when his disapproval number goes above 40%. In this latest sampling it's 38% with a sampling error of 4.3% so he is there. As the breakdown shows Democrats predictably disaprove of his job performance but a big worry for him is 27% of Republicans and 42% of Independents give him a thumbs down. A previous WNEP poll details his trouble:

Has this incident caused you to have a higher opinion of Congressman Sherwood? A lower opinion? Or has it not changed your opinion of him?

The scandal is probably driving these numbers as most people do not like hypocrites but I think it important to point out what an awful job he is doing for his district and our country. as Steve Peacock at Sherwood Watch points out he is bought and paid for by special interests:

U.S. Senate members negotiating a compromise Energy Bill (HR-6) with their House counterparts rejected a House proposal to protect the oil industry from pollution-related lawsuits and to provide that sector with billions in clean-up subsidies, the Associated Press reported Sunday evening. The House-Senate conference committee was formed this month when the House, in contrast to the Senate, insisted on pursuing the contentious subsidies and litigation relief. Rep. Don Sherwood (R-Pa.-Tunkhannock) had voted in favor of the original bill, which practically would have absolved petroleum manufacturers from legal damages related to MTBE, an gasoline additive once touted as a means of reducing pollution. The chemical has been found to have polluted drinking water in 36 states, where more than 150 lawsuits have been filed seeking to force MTBE producers to pay for clean-up costs that could total billions of dollars. Sherwood was one of dozens of House and Senate members this year who received a piece of a nearly $100,000 pie from the Petroleum Marketers Association's American/Small Business Committee. The group made asingle payment of $1,000 to Friends of Sherwood on March 18.

He even supports the interest of big business over our men and women that he voted to send to war.

1. H.R. 1588, Roll Call 616, Nov 6, 2003: Sherwood voted against a motion that would have given all U.S. veterans immediate access to simultaneous disability and retirement benefits.

2. On H.R. 1815, Roll Call 221, May 25, 2005: Sherwood voted against the Taylor Amendment, which would have given military reservists access to TRICARE, the healthcare of active-duty military members.

3. H.R. 3289, Roll Call 554, Oct 17, 2003: Sherwood voted against an amendment which would have increased the pay for all U.S. service personnel by $1500 without raising taxes. The cost of the amendment was $256 million which would have been paid for by a reduction in funding for oil importation into Iraq.

4. H.R. 3289, Roll Call 547, Oct 16, 2003: Sherwood voted against an amendment by Congressman Obey of Wisconsin which would have put $3.6 billion into quality of life enhancements for U.S. military personnel. Obey’s amendment was aimed at fixing many service issues, such as only 20% of personnel having access to clean drinking water. A large number of U.S. soldiers contracted dysentery as a result of poor drinking water.

5. S 1920, House Roll Call 9, Jan 28, 2004: Sherwood voted against increased bankruptcy protections for active and former military personnel and their families.

2 comments:

I don't wanna comment on Don Sherwood receiving a pie or a cake from the oil companies.I am just bothered about the MTBE LITIGATION issue.I feel that he did a right thing by voting for the Energy Bill.

And for those of you who want a good knowledge on MTBE LITIGATION . Go check the link